


Blue Sky

by watergator



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Comics), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Blood, Brotherly Love, Cancer, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Leukemia, Other, Sick Character, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-07-12 05:25:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7087096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watergator/pseuds/watergator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the youngest of The Hamato Family falls ill, each member of the family find their own way to help overcome their fears for their baby brother, as the youngest goes through what might be the toughest time of his small life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Movement - Part One

It started off with a couple of nosebleeds here and there, a couple of bruises that scattered his skin – but it was all put down to the heat changing, or the fact that he had been messing around on his skateboard a little too much.   
But when the colour seemed to drain from his face, leaving those normally rosy cheeks a ghostly white, and when his clothes seemed to drape over his small frame, his appetite long gone, pushing away a plate of pizza, his nose turned up, sighing “I told you, I’m just not hungry” 

And Leo wanted to believe it – he really did, he wanted to smile and agree, he wanted to ignore the bruises that were now littering his skin, the way he would sit there, watching TV or playing a card game, and all of a sudden his nose would pour with red sticky liquid – and the way he would roll his eyes and make a grab for the tissues he now kept in the back pocket of his jeans – like it was an everyday occurrence, as if it was normal, when in fact it was far from that.   
But it didn’t seem to be bothering him, the nosebleeds seemed to be more annoying than painful – and the bruises, they were only sore when touched and prodded.   
And Leo hoped that it was nothing, that if he ignored it, that if he pretended that it was fine – then it would be.

But when he was awoken by a strangled scream, a high pitched voice that went straight through his heart as he sat up in his bed, and without a second thought, he was ripping the blankets off and cold feet led him to Raphael and Michelangelo’s room.  
There he saw his brother squirming around on the bed; his pjs clinging to him from the sweat, and Leo didn’t even have to put a cooling hand on his forehead to feel the heat coming off of him.   
There were murmurs of ‘it hurts’ between strangled sobs, teeth gritted and eyes squeezed shut.  
It look Leo a millisecond to scoop him up in his arms, cradling him like a baby, clutching him to his chest and soon all four brothers were in the car in the dead of night, pockets of light from the dimly lit streetlights caused the car to explode with orange light seconds at a time.  
It didn’t take long to get to the hospital but soon they had arrived, the small bundle that was his brother was whisked away behind double doors, out of sight, but certainly not out of mind. 

And when Leo sat, waiting in the hospital in the waiting room he had the nagging in his head that he should had brought his sickly brother here sooner – and whatever was wrong with him had been prolonged. It was his fault. Whatever was happening to his brother was all on him.  
He should have known. Sitting here in the office, Mikey sat in the chair next of him, the events of last night seemed so long ago, but here he was, heavy bags evident under his eyes, his eyes that had lost their sparkle, lost their touch, eyes that had dulled an incredible amount over the passing weeks.   
He should have done something sooner, as Leo gripped the arms of the chair, his nails digging into the wood, and he felt splinters under his skin – but nothing could be more painful as the words that had been said from the doctor in front of him, and it felt like acid in his ears;

Acute lymphocytic leukaemia. 

It should have been obvious. The way his tiny little brother was smaller than usual, the way he had slowed down, becoming more sluggish. The way he looked so damn ill all the time.   
But the crying next to him, which was Donatello, gripping onto Raphael who was sobbing his own misery silently, reminded Leo that it was too late to go back, and even if he could, he would still be the same shitty older brother that didn’t notice his own baby brother becoming increasingly sicker and sicker before him. 

The numb car journey home was antagonising silent and with a flicker of his eyes, he could see in his mirror that his small freckled brother who was still curled up in his pjs, his legs were short enough for him to sit crossed legged, and Raphael daren’t complain that his knee was digging into his thigh, but Leo watched as his little, small brother had his cheek pressed up against the glass, absorbing the outside world as it whizzed on past him in an instant.   
The radio murmured in the background of the static of Leo’s mind, and then when Leo heard the meek small voice of his brother, “Turn it up Leo, I like this song”   
He did, punching the volume up three or four cranks, only to realise what song it was – an old one,  
Mr Blue Sky, a song that ripped through the 18 year old like shredded blades as the irony of the lyrics seeped into his skin, almost burning him, as he realised how gray his life had just became in comparison to the song that his dying brother was bopping his head to in the back seat of the car.

Silent tears rolled down his cheeks, knuckles white from the grip he had on the steering wheel, his heart shattering into a million pieces, unsure if he could fix it – unsure if he could fix Mikey.


	2. Movement: Part Two

Hospital visits were very rare in the Hamato family – Raph once broke his shoulder in a fight with another kid in his class, apparently according to Raph ‘he had it coming’ but Mikey could remember being dragged along to the hospital, the white walls sparkled and the air smelled of soap, he wasn’t sure if that was his first time visiting the hospital, except from when he was born of course, but other than that, he couldn’t really remember going any other time.

He hadn’t been at the hospital when mom had died – he hadn’t been allowed.

But now it seemed like the hospital was part of his life, wedged uncomfortably between the rest of his plans, part of him now.  
Since not long ago, after Leo tore up the road, cradling his own limp body, he had awoken in the hospital, the pristine walls and floors stung his eyes, the bed sheets slightly itchy and he defiantly wasn’t wearing the dinosaur pyjamas he had put on the night before.  
He remembered looking up and without missing a beat, Leo smiled down at him – and Mikey never had to worry where Leo was, because he knew that he would always be by his side.

But ever since that night, the hospital trips were more frequent, talking boring stuff about treatment and different drugs, all stuff that went over his unruly mop of curls on his head - it didn’t mean a thing to him, as much as he tried to understand – he really couldn’t. And he didn’t mind the quick trips, even though there was without a shadow of a doubt that he would most likely get prodded and poked with a couple of needles every time he stepped into the building, but he knew he had to get used to that from here on out – his imagination ran a little wild one night and after some excessive googling – he saw the worst parts that was involved with the treatment he had picked up from his doctors babbling, good thing Leo actually listened.

Mikey’s eyes rolled around the office, he could see in the corner of his eyes Leo’s head bobbing as he nodded, soaking up every word of the doctor – Dr Splinter that was, as he drained on what sounded like names of drugs that he wouldn’t even attempt to pronounce.  
His eyes wandered, gazing over the small paintings on the wall, that looked like children had done, pinned up with tape and wobbly signatures underneath them, that was sad.  
The walls also had pictures of children, some older than Mikey and some younger – a LOT younger, and he could tell that these must be, or was, his patients.

Maybe he would get his picture up there one day – like a wall of fame or something.

His brain switched on when he heard,  
“Mikey are you listening?”

Leos blue eyes gently met his own and Mikey cracked a smile,  
“Of course I am” 

Dr Splinter sat back in his wooden chair, his grey hair was slicked back, his eyes, almost black, reached Mikey’s,  
“So you’re okay with that then?” He asked, 

Mikey looked to Leo for comfort – of course he hadn’t been listening, and he was sure Leo would be able to know that too.

The elder boy sighed, it was amazing how much patience he had for his youngest brother,  
“The treatment Mike, its gonna take a little while to work” He spoke gently, and Mikey smiled again,

“Well that’s okay” 

Leo continued,  
“It means you’re going to probably stay in hospital for a little while” 

There was the wedge – pushing its way deeper and further into his life, making it squishy and cramped,

“So like, a week?” Mikey guessed, hoping that it was at least less than that,

“More like a month champ” Of course Leo brought out the ‘dad words’ when he was trying to make light of this seemingly annoying news – he got a star for trying though,

“A month?” He almost cringed at how meek and pathetic his voice sounded, an almost whisper,

“It’s just so we can keep an eye on you – once the month is over, and we are happy with the results, you’ll have visits here to have therapy” Splinter reassured him – but suddenly this didn’t sound so great anymore, “Then once the chemotherapy is over, and we take you off the steroids we can begin remission – that is only if the leukaemia cells have died off obviously” 

There was a swirling sensation in Mikey’s tummy – unlike the usually pain he had been feeling lately, more of an uncertainty as Splinter continued talking, but this time he was looking at Mikey, not a Leo – Leo had heard it all, and now it was like a cold slap of reality for the freckled teen,

“Once remission is over, we go through what’s called consolidation therapy” He was talking slower this time, making sure the teen absorbed every inch of information, “This is so the cells don’t come back, this will keep the leukaemia away, do you understand?” 

Mikey nodded numbly, but before he had a chance to even blink the doctor opened his mouth again,

“This means more therapy” 

That was a punch to the gut – he hadn’t even started any therapy yet and he was already sick of it,

“So this includes more chemotherapy or a donor transplant” 

Leo cleared his throat, and leaned forward in his plastic chair, it creaked under the weight,  
“A donor transplant?” 

Dr Splinter nodded,  
“Yes a donor transplant – sometimes the patient – “ He gestured to Mikey, “ Will need a blood transfusion, or in his case, bone marrow transplants”

Leo nodded again, his head doing the boppy thing he did,

“There is quite a lot to take it,” Mikey could second that, “But we can do this one step at a time” 

And the doctor flashed him a smile, his eyes sparkling, and Mikey knew this guy cared, obviously, but that didn’t help the fact that he was scared stiff of all of this, only two months ago, his biggest problem was who was going to play goalie for their football match after Pete had sprained his ankle. 

Leo and Splinter shook hands, they exchanged their goodbyes and soon they were making their way back to the car.  
He popped the door open and swung his body into the car, only to catch his shin – stupid, that was definitely going to bruise, and was defiantly going to freak Leo out.  
The engine started and they set off to go back home, Raph and Donnie would be at school, Mikey had missed yet another day at school, and as much as he hated 7am starts, and classes, he missed school, maybe because it was the only thread of normality he had left once he started this new life that consisted sickness and hospitals – and probably giant needles.  
He felt the light vibration against his thigh and he immediately dug his hand into his jean pocket, fishing out his phone, the screen flashed up, a text from Renet read,

“Didn’t see you in Chemistry? See you tomorrow?”

Mikey sighed, maybe a little too loud because soon he felt Leo’s eyes burning into his skin,

“Renet” Mikey huffed, his phone slipping out of his fingers and flopping into his lap,

Missing Chemistry wasn’t what was causing this bubble of hurt in his tummy – it was his best friend, Renet.  
They had been friends ever since he could remember, practically like family, and every time he got a text from Renet, asking where he was, it was another suffocating wave of guilt.

Leo puffed out his cheeks, sucking in some air,  
“You have to tell her Mikey” 

He had heard that many times over the last few weeks – it wasn’t that he wanted to keep secrets from Renet, no way, best friends didn’t do that.  
He just had no idea how he was supposed to say it, because he hadn’t had to yet.  
Leo, Raph and Donnie were all with him when he got the news, they didn’t have family, so it saved the awkward aunts and uncles, and Leo had phoned the school, ever since he started working there a few years ago he was adored by all the teachers and staff – telling them the bad news was Leo’s job, because it sure as hell wasn’t easy, and even when Leo had offered to tell Renet or even break the news to her parents first – Mikey had refused, deciding that he would be the one to tell her, but he just didn’t have the courage to make his thoughts into words.  
He told Renet everything, and yet he struggled to string out a simple sentence to let her know the full horrible story, shrugging it off at every text and when he did see her at school he plastered some fake mask and carried on like life was normal – and besides, he didn’t want her to worry.

“You’re gonna have to break the news to her, otherwise I will” Leo was now using his teacher voice – stern but still sympathetic, almost as if he was asking his baby brother to let him help him with this one.

Mikey blinked,  
“So when does that therapy start again” His voice was still sounding small and weak,

“Next week” Leo replied back, just as small,

The younger teen nodded, his fingers fumbling with the phone until he opened up a new text, addressed to the teen girl, he punched at the keyboard and pressed send without a second thought,

“Meet me at the park at 4pm"

He puzzled for a while, before sending a bunch of emoji’s and a few kisses, more Mikey-like meant less for Renet to worry about.  
When the screen was filled with bouncing emoticons he smiled and set the phone back in his lap.

“Don’t worry Leo, I’m gonna sort it out”


	3. Movement: Part Three

Their apartment was nice, it had two bedrooms, which was never a problem since the four brothers had grown up with having to share.   
Mikey didn’t mind having to share with Raphael, over the five years of living in this tiny box apartment, the teen had switched, sharing rooms with each brother until they had settled and it was final that Raphael would be his permanent roomie. 

Their room was small, two beds on each side of the room, pressed up against the walls – the two brothers had made a pact, a deal that they owned their own side of their room, Raph on the right, Mikey on the left. They even painted their own walls, much to Leo’s dismay, he wasn’t happy about the brightly orange paint and the splashed on red and black on the opposing wall, even though both brothers had stood proudly, chests puffed out at their masterpieces.  
Mikey’s wall was scattered with posters, there was a shelf above the headrest, which was now wonky from the beatings it had gotten from Mikey’s head when his alarm would go off.  
He had tiny figurines, that he claimed to be worth ‘a lotta money’ – cue the eye roll from Raphael, however on his brothers side of the wall was the dresser, which was also shared, and a guitar held up on the wall – purely for decoration of course.   
The rest of the apartment was neat and tidy, curtesy of Leo, picking up after the whirlwind which was Michelangelo and Raphael.   
Leo and Donnie shared a room, slightly larger, fitting in two desks as well as their beds and a dresser. The walls were a calming colour which was in-between blue and purple – lavender even, totally not girly.  
The kitchenette was tucked away at the back of the apartment, a bar and four stools as well as a fridge, a cooker – the usual you would find in a kitchen. Including Mikey’s special cupboard which held all his cooking ingredients – the stuff only he was allowed to use.   
Then there was the living room – or dubbed, the pit.  
The floor was slightly lower and there was a TV pushed against the wall, two towers of wobbly DVD’s either side – collections of Donnie’s documentaries, or Raph’s horror movies, and to their shame, a Space Hero’s box set was in there too, that was Leo’s.  
There was a long couch that sat in front of the TV, then two smaller armchairs next to it, making it cosy and perfect for movie nights and sleepovers.   
The bathroom was pretty small, compact with a shower that had a mind of its own, the hot water was a bet in the mornings, and Raph swore that a family of spiders have nested in the ceiling, reluctant to stay in there for more than 10 seconds at a time.  
It wasn’t much of a house, it was small and sometimes cramped, but it was home. And now Mikey wasn’t going to be here, for other a month, he realised how much he would miss this place. 

It was a few hours later, when Mikey was lounging around on the sofa, when the front door swung open and two teens walked in, dropping their backpacks in a neat pile on the floor.  
The first to walk through was Raphael – he was considerably smaller next to Donnie, standing at 5 foot – small for a 17 year old, he had curly hair, much like Mikey’s but was a lot darker and brown. His green eyes were prominent and stood out like the leaves from a tree, his arms, and the rest of his body for that matter, were thick with muscle, and from where his tank top was, you could just about see the lightening scar above his breast plate – an accident from a heated sparring match, the catalyst that banned anymore weapons, even though he would sneak into the storage room at the end of the apartment just to give his twin sais a twirl – Mikey swore he never saw a thing.

Donnie on the other hand loomed over his older brother at 5’7, his eyes were a chocolate brown and his hair was a few shades lighter than Raph’s, and straighter. He defiantly wasn’t a toned as Raphael, a lot taller and leaner, but his arms still had muscle.  
Raph – evidently tired from school walked into the hallway, and making a beeline for the pit to see his smaller brother on the sofa, eyes heavy, struggling to stay awake,

“Hey” Raph said, flopping down next to his brother, tapping his foot with his phone, making the blonde brother jump slightly, his eyes now fully open, “You falling asleep there kid?” Raph’s face lit up from the lamination from his phone screen, and from where Mikey was he could see about three texts from Mona, his lips curled into a smile, 

“Was not” He said, pushing himself up with an elbow, only to slip, his arm falling under him and soon he was hanging upside down off the couch.  
He felt strong arms pull him up, gently and for a split second, his eyes met his brothers, swimming with worry, unspoken words, yet they felt like he was speaking, asking, ‘what the heck was that’.

Mikey didn’t like to admit how weak he had been feeling lately, it was that feeling you got – when you somehow managed to skip a meal, and all of a sudden your legs get a little shaky and you’re feeling weak. It was like that, but all over and all the time.

He realised he had been silent for too long and whipped out his trademark smile,  
“Oops” It was a long shot but he just hoped Raph wouldn’t go all mother hen on his butt and just shrug it off,

“Mikey, are you feeling okay?” His voice was etched with concern and Mikey felt himself inwardly cringe, not because he didn’t want Raph to care, but because it was Raph – he was supposed to let him dangle, to make a snide remark and maybe even push him completely off letting his brother land with an oof on the floor – because that was Raph all over, he showed his love with rough noogies and gentle punches on the shoulder, none of this mushy stuff, that was stepping into Leo’s territory, and then Mikey realised that he wasn’t the only one being effected, not the only one that was going to suffer,

“I guess” Another pathetic shot, but his brain wasn’t filtering his words, because Mikey didn’t know if he was okay or not, he didn’t know anything anymore.  
There was a silence and Raph was unmoving, the light reflected just a little too much light – and Mikey wasn’t sure if he was going to burst into tears or crush him in a hug.

But the footsteps from the archway, made both teens tear their eyes away from each other to see Donnie, a can of soda in one hand and two in the other, he took a few steps forward before tossing both cans, years of ninjitsu training kicked in, and the two brothers caught them each.   
The taller teen sat on the armchair, sitting back and sipping on his cola,

“You okay Mike?” His seemed awkward – which wasn’t nothing new for his geeky brother, but ever since the big news, it was like stepping on eggshells, and Mikey couldn’t help but feel the hurt as his brother didn’t feel like his brother anymore.   
They had always been close, they were a year apart in age – but closer in their bond, but Donnie had just felt plain awkward about the whole situation, like he just didn’t know how to handle it properly. 

“M’good” He managed to say between a yawn, sipping at his drink, he felt a buzz between his legs, looking down he realised his phone was vibrating like crazy, he picked it up and saw the explosions of texts on his phone.

Oh man.

The sudden drowsiness and tiredness seemed to shake off like dog when he realised the time, it almost half past four – he had left Renet waiting, probably worried sick, which was not what he wanted, and with a quick,  
“Brb”  
He was yelling out goodbyes to two puzzled brothers, who shrugged it off, focusing their attention back at the TV.

Once they heard the door slam shut, it was a while before Leonardo emerged from the kitchen, sitting in Mikey’s abandoned seat.   
There was a small silence as the three of them had their eyes to the screen as the light hit the walls with various colours of whatever wacky cartoon their little brother was watching.  
It was Raphael who spoke first, 

“So” He still hadn’t torn his eyes away from the screen, and the same could be said for his brothers.

“So” Leo sighed, he sounded so damn drained, and Raph flinched a little at how hoarse his voice sounded, and began to question how much sleep his older brother had gotten over the past few weeks,

“How did the appointment go Leo?” Donnie asked from his corner of the room. He was sat crossed legged on the puffy armchair, his legs too darn long, going for miles as his knees rested ontop of the arm rests.

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose, and the two brothers guessed it wasn’t anything good – then again what were they expecting, “So we talked about treatment plans,” His hand how was back in his lap, and he could see both brothers were now lookin at him, “and Dr Splinter wants him to start chemotherapy next week”  
He saw Donnie nod, and he knew that the gears in his clever mind were turning, figuring it all out, whilst Raphael just continued to give him an intense stare, he honestly looked scared. 

“He’s gonna be at the hospital for a while,” He said turning his head both sides, to look at both brothers and they nodded, they understood – but it didn’t mean they were 100 percent sure with what was going on, it wasn’t like Leo expected them to.

“A months top” He said quietly, and he saw Raph slump his shoulders in defeat.

There was no words after that, just a hum from Donnie, and after a few minutes his slipped out of the pit, to his shared bedroom, dragging his previously abandoned backpack from the hallway with him, leaving the two eldest to a thick silence, both heads running wild with different thoughts - all concerning their smallest brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!
> 
> So I just wanna say thank you so much to the two lovely comments I have received on this fanfiction so far, only three chapters in, it really makes a difference and makes me enjoy writing even more:) So I know I have posted one chapter over the last three days, but unlike Keeper (which I update every Friday) I'm not sure if this fanfiction is going to have set update-day and I will probably just update whenever I find the time to write :) So I hope whoever is reading this is enjoying it, lol - also I know I said I was going to try and update Sacrifice, I just haven't found the motivation or time to write it up yet, but I am going to try for the few guys that asked me :) So keep an eye out for that, I didn't intend this authors note to be so long, but I had a lot to say, whoops!
> 
> So remember to leave comments and kudos or whatever, like I said before, I really honestly do enjoy looking at them and the really inspire me to write and to improve!!
> 
> So thanks again, have a great week everyone,  
> Much love !!


	4. Movement: Part Four

It was getting close to summer, school was out in less than two more weeks, the weather had been giving the people of New York the summer that they needed - the warm sunshine and the gentle cooling breeze. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, and as Mikey rolled up to the park, flipping his skateboard with one foot, gracefully catching it with one hand, using the other to swing the metal gate open, it was no surprise that the park was squirming with little kids and their parents, even some teens from Mikey’s school using the halfpipe. He waved a quick hello as their faces lit up, but he ushered on, making his way to the swing set where Renet was sat quietly, her phone in her hands, all attention diverted to the screen.

A smile spread on his face as he skipped over to her, “What’s up ma ninja”,

His voice immediately caught her attention as her brown eyes lit up for a split second before a frown etched onto her face, “Where the heck have you been Mikey? You had me worried sick” 

Mikey’s smile fell, seeing the concern on his friends face, for him.  
The blonde teen, rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling slightly as he flopped onto the swing next to her, “Sorry about that – honestly” His trademark smile, had Renet smiling back in seconds, giving him a soft punch to the shoulder, to which Mikey reacted to dramatically by letting his body flop over the swing – almost falling off if it wasn’t for ninja reflexes – the giggles coming from his friend next to him causing a warm bubble of affection rest in his stomach. 

“So,” Renet said after a few moments of silence, “Why did ya call me out here?” her smile was something warm and genuine and that feeling in his stomach rumbled and he tried to bite back to pain and hurt that he was about to cause her – but he had to other choice.

Mikey let his skateboard drop from where it was tucked under his arm, letting it roll on the smooth tar before extending a leg – stopping it with his foot and bringing it back under the swing.   
He hadn’t even realised that he had sighed until he heard Renet’s soft gentle voice,

“Mikey?” 

He had no idea how he was supposed to say this, he imagined her pretty face crumpling up, twisting into hurt and confusion, and he hated that idea, “Renet” He started, his eyes fell onto the ground, his sneakers were scuffed at the toe, and although Leo had warned him about dirtying up anymore shoes, he couldn’t help but kick the ground a few time, heart thumping inside his chest.  
His fingers wrapped around the metal chains of the swing, he felt his grip tighten and wished that he could strangle himself with them to get him out of this awfully awkward painful situation.  
Then he felt soft skin on top of his hands, and when Mikey blinked to look up – he hadn’t noticed the tears that were running miserably down his face had built up, but it was too late now.   
And now it was Renet’s turn, her face cracked, seeing her friend so hurt – and yet here he was, leaving her hanging, not cool.

He pushed away his soppy silly feelings and sucked in a breath, “Renet , its, uh – not, it’s not good news” His gaze was back on his shoes as they were mercifully rubbed back and forth on the floor, little flails of rubber shedding onto the tar beneath him reminded him of how mad Leo would get if theses shoes manged to get ruined in the four months he had had them.   
Her hand squeezed his slightly and his death grip on the metal bars loosened as he let out a breath he didn’t even realise he was holding.   
Renet didn’t need to speak, her words were in her fingers, and soon they were intertwining with the hand underneath, letting him know that it was okay.

That was all he needed, just that one small act – he chest bursting, words escaping his lips like fire in a building, erupting into something burning in his chest, “I have cancer”

Mikey was expecting a lot of things, like tears, screams that would run her throat sore for days, maybe even passing out. But he wasn’t expecting her hands to coil gently around his, letting her head fall onto his shoulder, and from what he could see from his side view, her eyes were closed, small tears escaping and she breathed, “I love you Mikey”  
Silent tears of his own ran freely, and he squeezed her hand back, his chin resting on top of her head, softly pillowed in her brown, strawberry smelling hair, “I love you too”

They had stayed silent for the rest of the half hour that they sat on that swing set. When Mikey’s phone buzzed, he saw a text from Leo, prompting both teens to head back home – although staying on the swing set, collapsing into each other seemed so much more easier, but he found the strength he didn’t think he would have in his legs to push forward and off the swing.  
He had to clear his voice a few times for any audible sound to come out before asking her if she wanted to be walked home – but after insisting that she was good, they reached the gates of the park. And it was then when they went to part ways that they realised that their hands were still locked, their fingers gripping each other. They both blushed before letting go, slipping away from each other, their heads turning every often second to smile sympathetic smiles, until Mikey reached the corner and they were both out of sight of each other.

Mikey had had a lot of expectations of how that would go – how she would react, how he would react, and where their friendship would lie after the talk –but never had he expected that. He had no idea what he was supposed to feel and think, and even though Dr Splinter had blathered on about the side effects of the disease over and over again, he hadn’t expected Renet to be one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!  
> So I managed to write this up and edit today so here it is!! I at least attempted to make this emotional - but alas, I can only try  
> I wanna thank the handful of people who wrote such lovely things in the comments section, they really brightened my day:D   
> ALSO!! I recently made a tumblr: which is 'angelmichaelangelo' - the user is spelt wrongly as apposed to -angelmichelangelo- because I had an old blog that doesn't work anymore;( so here my NEW one that you can follow and hopefully I will be taking prompts for my drabble series I have going around on this mess of an account lol
> 
> BUt anywho, please leave a comment/kudos/bookmark whatever if you please since they really help and they really make me smile every time I get an email lol 
> 
> have a great day/night,  
> Much love!!


	5. Movement: Part Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!   
> There is slight gore mentioned in this chapter involving blood and vomit - so if that aint your thang, stop reading, here is your warning!! 
> 
> Other than that, enjoy;)

The weekend rolled over, pyjamas weren’t to come off until Monday morning and the TV screen would be preoccupied with movies and needy eyes.   
It was almost natural for April and Casey to stroll in with their spare key, calling out – only taking a second for a voice to reply from some corner of the apartment and soon one brother would soon appear. 

Even though April and Casey were Donnie’s age – the entire Hamato clan considered them close friends, April would hang out with Donnie and Leo and sometimes Casey, Raph and Mikey, the loud rowdy teens they were, would burst in like a tornado with the energy that they always seemed to have buzzing through their body, radiating off in series of yells, laughs and wrestling matches on the carpet, which normally ended in Mikey screaming “UNCLE” and Casey was in fits of laughter lugging his friend from his smaller brother. 

The six teens were soon heaped onto the sofa, watching Homeward Bound – much to Raph’s dismay, “But we always watch this dumb mo—“ “Just do it for Mikey okay?”   
And once Mikey was all cried out after the emotional adventure, the bowl was clean of popcorn, he snuggled deeper into Raph’s side, making him squirm, even though he would never admit he was the slightest bit ticklish, made a smile form on his lips.  
He caught sight of his phone screen, and of course he was back and forth texting Mona the entirety of the film – he never did pay attention for too much time.

Mona was Raphael’s unofficial official girlfriend, it was never fully established where the two were at, but she had come over a few times, only if she was waiting for Raph, standing quietly in the hallway, only squeaking a hello and then being ushered out by an embarrassed Raph when Mikey, Leo or Don would make kissy noises after him.   
But what Mikey had seen from her, she was built like a tank, her skin was tanned and her hair was a beautiful display of tight curls, stopping just under her collarbone – she was pretty, no doubt about it, but she was miles taller than Raph, wearing heels made him look like an ant when they went on a serious date – Raph wearing a tie was defiantly something entirely different. 

But despite the in-between dates, and the screen flashing almost every second, Mikey shared a room with Raph – he knew that his brother stayed up hours on end to talk to her – then why did she never come over?

The blonde cocked his head, “Hey Raph?” the credits were rolling and Casey had gotten up to go pee, letting the green eye teens move over two more inches, letting Mikey’s head slide onto his lap, “Why don’t you even invite Mona for the weekend?” 

His leaf green eyes went wide for a second, before he sent a small angry frown down at his little brother, he rolled his eyes, like it was obvious, “Because its family tonight” 

Mikey felt his heart swell, he had no inch of doubt that his big brother didn’t love or care about his family, his brothers and the extended members that was April and Casey, but the fact that he put Mona Lisa aside to spend quality time made Mikey’s chest burn with underlying affection.

Soon Donnie was conked out on the couch, pizza in their bellies and the late night drew and they were pulling blankets and pillows from various rooms, slumping in one big heap of warm bodies and snuggles, and when Mikey felt Leo pull him towards him, he buried his head in his chest, letting the steady beat of his heart sooth him to sleep.  
But the peace and tranquillity of the night didn’t last very long – in fact, it soon seemed the very opposite. 

Michelangelo woke to a searing pain in his stomach. He felt the heat spread over his body like a fire.  
He fidgeted in Leo’s now weak hold, his brothers and friends were still sleeping, a quick turn of his head and the VRC played flashed 3am. He groaned, and then froze hearing the shuffle of blankets and a groan that wasn’t one of his brothers.

April propped herself up with one elbow, rubbing her eye with a knuckle, her red hair strewn over her shoulder lazily, “Mikey?” She whispered out,

He did realise how gravely his voice was until he whispered out, “I’m okay” – it was a knee jerk reaction, whenever he would hear his name being called out, wavering on the edges of fear and concern he would smile lopsided and say those words or reassurance, even if he didn’t believe it himself. 

But when he saw the girls silhouette flop back down to her content sleep, Mikey realised how sleepy she must have been to take his word for it, but when another wave of hot pain washed over his body, he gritted his teeth, he was most defiantly not okay. When the third wave hit, he couldn’t conceal it, letting out a muffled cough – only that made it about three thousand times worse. Soon he felt the pain that was alight in his stomach travel up his throat and he was in fits of coughs and splutters.  
In the dark he could see Leo sit up, but any words of comfort were blocked out from the drumming in his ears and the coughing that burned his throat and hadn’t ceased to stop yet. But when he heard a mumble from Donnie, then Raph – soon followed by Casey and not much longer April, he felt tears spring to his eyes, his face was hot, his entire body was on fire, and the pain in his stomach was enough to make him want to pass out. When Leo was rubbing soothing circles on his back, that’s when he felt hot acid crawl its way up his throat and soon it was over his lap. But it didn’t stop coming, and it hurt.

When the light eventually flickered on, and Donnie was standing with a glass of water in the archway – that was when they saw the amount of blood. He was practically covered in it, and he heaved and gagged again, sprouting more sticky red liquid over his lap. He wheezed, gulping breaths desperately as the five teens around him were a whirlwind of sheer panic and fear, he heard Leo cry out for someone, anybody, to call for an ambulance in the midst of screaming, crying and cursing.   
His small frame was wracking with shakes as he sat in the puddle of his own life liquid.

As tears dribbled down his cheeks, he felt another wave of nausea, he swayed slightly from where he was still sat, the background panic that was his brothers and teenage friends seemed distant, but before the bile that was his blood reached his mouth, before it could pass his lips, he swayed one more time and his vision blacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just wanted to make a disclaimer - a lot, and I mean a lot of research went into this fanfiction, since this is such a heavy subject and in no way do I want to be treading on the toes of those who suffer or have suffered from this sickness - so a lot of research went into this fanfiction so I'm not sprouting out fake medication names or symptoms - all this information is what I have researched and learnt about - if in any way some information is incorrect or not true, please be kind to tell me - not everything you read on the internet is true but im doing my best to make every inch of this story as realistic as possible.   
> Also!! This fanfiction is in no way an attempt to romanticize or glorify cancer - I have no intentions of doing that, if you wanna see cancer portrayed as "romantic" and "beautiful" (which is extremely incorrect) go read The Fault in Our Stars" lol - this story is intended to have depth and emotion (too bad I suck at writing it lol) so I just wanted everyone to know that :) 
> 
> So leave a comment or kudos or whatever !! Thanks for reading,  
> Much love!!


	6. Movement: Part Six

Leo was sure that he had the list of all the possible side effects of cancer paged inside his brain, but it wasn’t until he heard the words, ‘lower gastrointestinal bleeding’, that his mind went foggy and it was like all the information he had desperately tried to cram into his head was washed away like a broken dam.  
He was told, slowly, about what it was, and that Mikey was – considering the consequences, going to be okay. But when he stepped through the white doors, whooshing breezily, he saw his little brother, far from what looked, okay.

He had a breathing mask covering half his face, and his small thin arms were placed delicately over his chest, wires attached to the backs of his hands, hooked up to what he knew was Raphael’s blood.

Back when Mikey had been diagnosed, it had been mandatory to seek a match in the family, and even though Raph had already sworn to donate everything before Dr Splinter had time to finish his sentence, it so happened that Raph was a match – and that didn’t make him take back any promises.

Leo had pulled the small plastic chair from the corner up to the bedside, where his hand rested over his kid brother’s smaller one, ghosting a thumb over his pale pasty skin, and it only took a couple of moments for his eyes to heavily flutter open, his blue orbs tracing the room, until they came to rest once they met Leo’s own,

“Dove sono?” 

Leo was a taken aback at the sudden use of Italian tongue – it had been years since they last spoken in their mother language, said from Leo, being a Language teacher kept the translations crisp in his head - yet he was surprised that Mikey still could speak it, he was never so good at it, “We’re at the hospital” Leo said gently, getting a small nod from Mikey, his eyes gently shutting again,

His voice was husky and hushed, almost as if it hurt for him to speak, “Dove sono gli alrti?”

“Raph and Donnie went home, they were zonked out, especially Raph” he paused, he wasn’t sure if he wanted his little brother to know about the tremendous amount of blood he had lost, leaving Raph to have his arm pumped dry, but it was either that or worse, and besides, with a day’s rest Raph would easily bounce back up – the same couldn’t be said for Mikey though, “And April and Casey left not long ago” 

Mikey hummed, his lips were drawn in a thin line, he seemed so un-Mikey like, but Leo’s best guess was the drugs that were being pumped into his system every minute, the way his eyes were slightly glazed over, unfocused – it was defiantly the drugs, maybe a mixture of shock thrown in too.

“Voglio andare a casa” He whined, shifting under the blankets, his face scrunching up and he let out a soft moan, letting Leo run his fingers through his mop of dandelion curls, soothing him as his squirming stopped and soon the frown on his face ironed out, and Leo watched him fall asleep as quickly as he had awoken, and he felt tears burn salty pain in the corners of his eyes, blinking them away before whispering, 

“Ti amo, fratellino” and he whispered it over and over again so it was engraved in his subconscious, even though he’d only have to say it once for Mikey to know, “Ti amo”

The rest of the day was spent with people popping in and out of the room, mainly doctors and nurses, and then soon the bustle of the two other brothers had sat down and were determined to stay until visitor hours were over, even April and Casey had managed to slip into the room, after insisting that they were family – which was partially true to some extent, even though it did earn an eye roll from the nurse in the hallway, but let the two teens go in anyways.  
They chatted endlessly, Mikey silently sat cosied in the bed, bundled under blankets as he hummed along with the buzz which was his family.

Then, before any of them knew it, hours had flown by – it was Sunday night and there was a groan of realisation that school was tomorrow, and they’d rather much stay in the comfort of the tiny hospital wing where Mikey was tucked away.

The door creaked and a head poked round – one that Leo certainly didn’t recognise from the bustle of nurses that had tended to his brother all day, her hair was cropped black, and it was sleek, resting upon her shoulders.

Her chocolate brown eyes met Leo’s for a split second, a small smile, before, “Sorry guys, visitor hours are over”

Leo knew the small accent – Japanese, for sure.  
His eyes were still fixated on her, as the rest of the teen grumbled, grumbling out of the room, but not before peppering Mikey with delicate kisses and squishy hugs.

The teen felt a nudge on his shoulder as Raph walked past, “You coming Leo?”  
And the older teen blinked a few time, blushing as a nervous smile crept on his lips as the nurse found herself smiling back.

Then she was gone, disappeared behind the door and Leo was still glued to the spot.

He was snapped out of his trance when he heard a delicate soft voice, “Leo?”  
The boy spun on his heel, looking at his brother who was now nestled safely under the bundles of blankets, blinking up with the enormously adorable blue eyes, “Are you okay?” He question, an eyebrow raised as Leo continued to blink again,

“Yeah, I’m okay Mikey” He finally managed to say, for some reason it felt as if his words were somehow caught in his throat, stuck, almost suffocating, in a strange kind of way.  
He smiled down at his brother but it was short lived as Mikey picked at the frayed edges of the blanket, his eyes watering, reflecting too much light,

“Hey buddy,” He said softly quick to place himself on the edge of the bed, his hand quickly holding Mikey’s, “Whats up?” He smiled, but Mikey looked away, blinking back big fat tears, “I wanna go home” He managed to squeak out, and Leo felt his heart do a ninja worth flip.

It wasn’t like Mikey had never stayed away from home before, he’d had plenty of sleepovers and camp was something he looked forward to on the odd summer – but this, this was different. Mikey hated being alone, this type of alone, it scared him.

Leo thumbed away a tear, cupping his face with those strong stead hands, making Mikey ten times more protected,  
“Look, I’m gonna be here as soon as I can tomorrow morning,” He smiled reassuringly, and Mikey sniffed in understanding, “And I won’t leave until thy drag me out”, that earned a giggle from the freckled teen and soon Leo was beaming back, his thumb still gently stroking his cheek. 

He tucked him into the blankets, before placing a kiss on his forehead, “Goodnight Mikey” He whispered, 

“G’night Leo”

The older teen walked out of the hospital room, down the hallway to the exit until his eyes caught sight of the nurse from earlier. His heart did a small flutter when she smiled and waved at him, and he smiled and waved back, and left the hospital with the dorkiest grin ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!
> 
> So I attempted to add some Italian dialogue here - sorry if its wrong, my Italian is a lil rusty oops :')
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you did please leave a comment and a kudos,
> 
> Thank you,  
> Much love!!


	7. Movement: Part Seven

Donatello had always loved big scientific words, they always seemed to make everything more official and a little more interesting – well, to him at least, but when he heard the long medical words roll of Dr Splinter’s tongue, they didn’t have the same effect as they would in a biology lesson – because chances were that he some sort of inkling of what they were, and it became harder for him to ignore what kind of drugs they would be pumping into his little brother.  
Donnie had done his research, he always did, but nowadays it was late into the night and early into the morning, eyes tired and sore, blinking away the light that his small homemade laptop would give off in the dim light of his and Leo’s shared room – that was if he was lucky enough to not get caught.  
But after the month that Mikey was diagnosed, he realised that there wasn’t enough research in the world to prepare him for the real thing.

So when Splinter said the words, “Asparaginase, Cytarabine, Doxorubicin and Methotrexate” the words seem to dissolve in his brain, any known knowledge fizzled away and he was left in the room with the doctor and Leo and Mikey, unable to understand and unable to explain – it was weird for him, being on the receiving end of the information, when he was usually the one who would spurt it out like it was a second language to him. But everything about this situation so far had him stumped, like he was losing his edge or something.

And even though these drugs, these drugs that would be hooked up to Mikey like a source of life, a string of hope, would be doing his some good, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was just wrong.  
Kids Mikey’s age should be given Tylenol for bad headaches and tiny painkillers for upset tummies – not these fancy long named drugs that would be pumped mercilessly into his system for the next couple of months. 

And today was the day it started – that was what Splinter called it, although to Donnie it felt like this entire nightmare was dragging out for so long, taking its time, slowly but surely.

When Mikey finally emerged in his hospital gown, his bundles of jeans and hoodie in his arms, he gave a weak smile, and Donnie realised that Mikey was just as scared as he was; he was the one going through all of this, not just physically but mentally as well. And Mikey always had a good talent for hiding things that bothered him. 

“The nurse will be with you shortly” Splinter smiled warmly before slipping behind the curtain, leaving the three brothers in small silence.

Donnie had come prepared though, his laptop tucked under his arm, movies downloaded from the night before, ranging from Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban (because that was Mikey’s favourite one), all three Spider-Man movies, the Tobey Maguire ones obviously, and The Lion King – all of Mikey sworn favourites. 

He’d also brought a small backpack with Mikey’s iPod, his phone with a tangle of headphones and chargers, a stack of comics, ones that Mikey kept like prizes on his shelf at home such as; Scott Pilgrim, a few Dragon Ball ones and even a Death Note one – even though Leo hadn’t been so happy when his little brother had picked it off the shelf in eagerness.   
Not no mention some superhero ones too of course. 

By the time Mikey had quickly changed into his gown and clambered into the freshly made bed, his legs dangling over the edge, the nurse he remembered from last time had entered the room and Donnie pretended not to see Leo’s cheeks blush furiously. 

She smiled over to Leo, then to Donnie and her gaze finally settled on Mikey,  
“Hi, the names Karai, I’ll be your nurse”

The three of them introduced themselves and Leo even shook her hand – Mikey stifled a giggle behind the back of his hand, and when Leo looked round, he pretended to scratch his nose, which earned a grin from Donnie  
Leo didn’t know what she was doing, turning on pieces of machinery, getting things prepared, too much medical stuff he didn’t understand – but he was fixated on her.

“There’s gonna be needles?” Mikey whined, as he too was watching Karai, watching her get it ready, making her way over the teen. 

Karai simply chuckled; her laugh was warm and sweet and made Leo’s stomach do ninja worthy flips until his mouth ran dry and all he could do was smile back. 

“It’s called a cannula” She explained, her attention half on the medication she was preparing, half on Mikey – who was now squirming slightly in his seat, “It’s just a small needle that put into the back of your hand” She turned around again, smiling brightly, moreover for Mikey’s benefit, “And the medication runs straight through your veins” She finished, watching the teen look at the needle, then back at the girl with uncertainty. 

“You know,” She started saying, leaning in playfully, “back when I had my training, we had a big guy, musta been about, oh I don’t know, way over six foot tall, he came in for us to practice on – he passed out before we even got anything ready”

Mikey giggled, his eyes brightening up with the familiar warmth that Leo loved, and as he watched Karai insert the needle – in the back of his hand like she said – he watched his brother hold his breath as she talked him through it, and when the needle was in, and Mikey had managed to not pass out, she smiled that same warm smile that Leo feel weak and lightless – if that what she was making Leo feel, she must be doing wonders for Mikey. 

She handed Leo the sick bowl before she left the room, pulling the curtain behind her, leaving the three brothers on their own.

Leo had to ask Mikey if he was okay about twenty times before the smallest brother decided that maybe listening to his music would block him out after saying “Yes Leo, I’m fine” que an eye roll and a small harsh laugh from Donnie who had sat himself down on the plastic chair in the corner of the tiny room, his phone in on hand, long legs crossed over each other, using one thumb to swipe away at the screen.

“Hey, Raph texted me” Donnie smiled, leaning forward, as did Leo and Mikey.

It was a picture of Raph in his football gear, out on the muddy playing fields, but he wasn’t playing – no instead it was of the entire team, the cheerleading team, and Raph had somehow squeezed over his legs a cheerleading skirt, standing at the front of the crowd, next to the giant mascot, with the text underneath the picture, 

“We’re all rooting for you pal”

Mikey wished he hadn’t started crying, but when Leo cooed him, tucking his little brother into the crook of his elbow, letting him bury himself into his chest, he kind of wished he could stay like that forever.

Raph had gone livid when he was told that he wouldn’t be able to be at the hospital for Mikey’s first chemotherapy, he threatened to even quit the team – just to have one day off of practice, but Leo had told him to calm down and Mikey asked Raph to promise to go to his practice – just like normal, just how he wanted it to stay, and Raph did as he was told.   
He didn’t know whose idea the cheerleader skirt was – but Raph must’ve known it would cheer his baby brother up, because even he ended up with tears rolling down his face and was sandwiched between the arms of his big brother; there was a swell in his tiny heart that made him unbelievably happy. 

 

He didn’t remember falling asleep, but a loud voice woke him up suddenly, his heart thumping against his chest, a split second and he’d forgotten where he was, the hospital quickly flooded back into his brain and calmed him down. He was safe, he was here.  
But when there was no Leo or Donnie to comfort him, he looked around only to realise he was alone.

He rubbed his eyes with a knuckle, getting more comfortable in his bed, only to have an uncomfortable pinch at his hand, looking down he remembered the needle and the chemo and he gave a small sighed – he wished he could’ve forgotten for just a little bit longer. 

But the thick Irish voice, from what Mikey heard on the other side of his curtain, yelled out again, this time a little quieter, and when the teen didn’t hear anymore following voices, he began to get more and more curious.

He picked up his phone that was charging in the socket beside him, the screen lighting up, blinding him for a second, and once Mikey had blinked a few times and readjusted to the new light, he could read that it was in fact just over three am. 

“Hello?” He whispered out to the mysterious voice, and there was a small silence, until the scrape of the curtains being pulled back furiously almost had Mikey jumping out of his skin.

The boy behind the curtain was a tall skinny kid and he looked a little older than Mikey was, he had brilliant blue eyes, golden blonde locks, and a grin from ear to ear,

“Sorry neighbour” He beamed, his Irish accent at a low hushed whisper, and his toothy smile, the way his eyes crinkled at the edges had Mikey’s words run dry in his mouth for some reason – it was probably the drugs, he thought. 

“Um, okay, no problem” Mikey said slowly, looking through the darkness at the figure, still totally confused of what was going on.

The boy took one stride towards the bed, engulfing the gap that was there before with his long legs, now leaning over the bed, which was making Mikey sink lower and lower into his bed,  
“M’names Woody” He stuck a hand out and Mikey quickly shook it, not before his hand was slightly crushed under the force though. 

“Michelangelo” He replied back, rubbing his hand, ignoring the sharp pain from the needle.

Woody bent his knees, seemed to read some of the charts and smiled back at Mikey,  
“First time for this then, eh?” He pointed a thumb to the machinery that was pumping around the medication in Mikey’s bloodstream,

He smiled weakly,  
“Yeah” 

There was a beat and Woody nodded before,  
“Ya thrown up yet?” He asked, eyes wide, his grin still plastered on his face, and Mikey scowled, 

“No, why d’ya look so excited about it?” 

Woody laughed slightly again, his smile permanent on his pale face and shrugged his shoulders and simply said,   
“Because it’s cool”

The stranger soon left after saying goodbye, leaving Mikey puzzled and completely lost, watching the boy skip down the hall and behind a turn – unaware of who he was and where he was going, Mikey tried to get to sleep – but there was something about the tall, blonde haired boy that kept him awake that night.

Defiantly the drugs. 

Yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY
> 
> So its been a while since I updated, like almost four months, oops lol
> 
> So here is the new chapter finally (after waiting for the internet to load for literally 2 hours rip) but hopefully I'll be trying to post more, I've got one more week of summer and I'm gonna try and write more for you guys !! So here it is, enjoy and remember to comment and leave a kudos since they really help !! Thanks amigos !!


	8. Old Endings - Part One

It had been four days since he’d seen the mysterious 3am stranger, four days since he was certain Leo was even going home, four days since he’d been in the hospital – four days and he’d only now started feeling the medication kick in.  
It was a second nature for him to wake up and for Leo to be by his side, his lopsided smile that made a pool of warmth spring in his stomach; those dark blue eyes smiling down at him, and Mikey couldn’t help but feel just a little bit sorry for him.

Leo rarely took time off work, his job was practically gifted to him, he felt obligated to practically turn up to work, even if he was dead on his feet and felt like sack of rocks, he never ever missed a day.

But now he’d broken his personal record, skipping four days, and of course the school had understood and sent their deepest sympathies through the phone with a pained voice – it was all they really could to – apart from give Leo as much as a one week paid off, which at first Mikey thought was totally unfair, but when he found out that hiring substitute teachers wasn’t cheap, and as much as the teachers and staff loved Leo working as their Languages Teacher, they most likely loved their money a whole lot more.   
Mikey even heard Leo talk to Raph when they thought he was sleeping about starting a second job – and Mikey wondered how in the world he was supposed to do that if he spent every living moment stuck in the tiny corner of the hospital room on the same red plastic chair. But he decided not to bring it up. 

He did however, happen to bring up the previous night’s tomato soup and bits of bread, throwing up, and years of ninjitsu kicked in, when Leo managed to catch the product that was a grand mixture of chemotherapy and food in the paper sick bowl, before setting it down in a safe enough distance for anymore quick thinking incidents, and rubbed soothing circles on Mikey’s back as he groaned, and let himself lean into his brothers shoulder, feeling the warmth where he his head was pillowed in the softness that was the big, baggy blue hoodie. 

And he stayed that for a while, where it was soft and calm. 

And when Donnie and Raph had arrived, managing to come over for lunch with backpacks slung over their shoulders, pressing kisses into Mikey’s hair, chatting about school and the antics of their home that he had missed – talking and laughing just how they did when they were back home, for the first day in four days, he’d never felt so homesick. 

“Hey Mikey” Leo pipped up, few seconds before wiping the crumbs of his once turkey sandwich back into its box, looking over at his brother, who was sat up in his bed, with an unimaginable amount of pillows, that Raphael had defiantly not been pressured into stealing off of empty beds.

“So I was talking to Karai,” He began, and he almost saw the smug side glances that Raph and Donnie exchanged, 

“And she was telling me about this support group there is, for,” He stopped, and Mikey knew what he was going to say, and the voice inside his head said it at the exact time as him,

“Kids like you”

Mikey gave a small half-hearted smile, but as he watched Leo’s crestfallen expression, it was amazing how fast Leo could understand what Mikey was thinking and feeling in just under 0.2 of a second,

“Aw Leo, don’t look like that” Mikey teased and Leo only let out a small sigh, “And sides, why do I need to go to some group therapy?” He asked with a small tepid laugh, and Leo shook his head, 

“If they’re anything like Woody, then I don’t wanna…” But he’d began to trail off, his smile slipping as he watched Leo look confused and Don and Raph look up, both equally unsure.

He’d totally forgot to mention his little 3am visitor, and quite frankly, Mikey thought he wouldn’t need to, it wasn’t like he was bothering him - heck, he hadn’t even seen him since – it just seemed like a crazy weird thing to start a conversation on.

So instead, he swiftly opened a bag of Animal Crackers and put his head down, hoping that maybe if he didn’t make eye contact, his brothers wouldn’t ask any questions, but from the way he heard Donnie open his mouth a draw a short breath, he figured not.

But he was saved by the door and Karai walked in and almost immediately smiled, and suddenly Leo’s attention was on her, and not on Mikey, and the teen sent a silent thank you in his head to her.

He didn’t even know why he was getting embarrassed over it anyways – it was just some strange kid? Or maybe it was just the way that even thinking about him made his cheeks go red that was enough to make him not want to talk about it.

But he was dragged out of his thoughts when a heavy hand landed in his lap, and he blinked a few times to realise that Raph was being greedy, and he reluctantly handed over some of his snacks.

“Tell him Karai” was the tail end of the conversation Leo and Karai were having that Mikey heard when the girl smiled over at him enthusiastically, which earned a groan out of the teen.

And somehow he had been wrangled into going, just to try it out, just to see if he liked it, and there was a weird sinking feeling in his stomach, when Karai finally left and Leo had stopped talking a million miles a minute at her, and he didn’t even tease him about it, his mind occupied with the swirling anxiety for tomorrow – and Mikey had never been afraid of things like this, he always was up for going out, meeting new people and socialising. He was worried he was losing his touch. 

But when Raph had laid a firm hand on his shoulder, just before he was heading out to go get some food, his eyes swimming with worry and concern, he jumped slightly and Raph asked in a cool voice,  
“You okay little brother”

And even though so many things weren’t okay, and it was going to be a long time until they would ever be okay again, he managed a wonky smile, breathed in and put the worry and fear on a shelf, gleaming up his brother, and lied to him, to himself,   
“Sure thing Raph – always”


	9. Old Endings - Part Two

As it so happened, the group therapy wasn’t as bad as Michelangelo had stressed to himself about.  
It was in the room behind the cafeteria, which was totally amazing because who didn’t like the jello from there?

There was a circle of chairs, in the centre of the room and would of looked slightly ominous if it wasn’t for the handful of kids lurking at the side, with what Mikey hoped was punch, because he was thirsty as hell, and he suddenly felt slightly awkward for the first time in his life because it looked like they all knew each other, and he didn’t have a clue who any of them were.

He suddenly wished that he’d let Leo come along after all. 

His jeans itched and he pulled the sleeves of his hoodie as he sat down on a chair, waiting for something to happen.   
The other kids must have noticed his presence because their friendly banter quickly hushed down and Mikey felt their eyes burn into the back of his neck.  
He watched them move towards him, and then three of the seats were taken up, by one kid who wore a baseball cap, another who was a plump little one, with beady eyes, and the other was a tall gangly kid – that made Mikey think of a frog for some reason.

He waited for a while, and silently cursed, wishing he had his phone with him, just for something to do, so it wouldn’t be so awkward.

But Mikey was friends with the entire soccer team, the football team and half the school for that matter, and he hadn’t even been at high school for an entire year yet – and yet his palms were sweating and his knee was doing the bouncy thing it did when he had a test at school.

“Never seen you here before” one of the boys said, and Mikey looked round.

It was baseball cap kid, his voice was thick with a Californian accent and his lips had curved into a small curious smile.

Mikey cleared the lump in his throat and smiled back,  
“Uh, yeah, I’m kinda new here” And it sounded pretty sad, so he forced out a laugh, “My names Mikey”

“Nice to meet you dude,” Baseball cap kid smiled again, “I’m Mondo” he used a thumb to jab into his chest, then pointed to the smaller owl like kid, “That’s Malachi” and then at the frog kid, “And he’s Napoleon” And the three boys smiled gratefully and Mikey, and suddenly maybe he didn’t feel so bad – at least he knew their names now and didn’t have to refer to them as their stupid nicknames he’d given them in his head.

The doors opened and a man that Mikey guessed had to be over seven feet tall, strode across the room, quickly engulfing the gap between him and them.  
He wore jeans and a shirt, and Mikey wondered if there really was a clothes store for giants like him.  
His eyes were a dark green, and the way his face almost scowled reminded him a little bit of Raph – except this guy could kill Raph in one punch.

“Hello boys” He smiled suddenly and his voice was low and rumbling like the sound of a distant storm.

“Hey LH” Napoleon smiled and stood up the two of them did this weird handshake thing that Mikey so desperately wanted in on. 

“New meat dude” Mondo said, jabbing Mikey with an elbow in the ribs and he felt his face flush slightly.

“Ah yes, its, uh – Michelangelo, isn’t it?” He smiled warmly, and Mikey began to have second doubts about the idea in his head that this guy was part alligator – because he was incredibly soft and nice, and he’d only been in the room less than two minutes. 

“Yeah it is” He smiled back at the guy and waited,

“Well my name is Lorenzo, but the guys here call me Leatherhead” He chucked with a warmth that had Mikey smiling again.

He looked over to the others for an explanation but Malachi just grinned at him, “Trust me, it’s a long story”

And it also turned out that Lorenzo was incredibly smart; he was studying medicine and psychology, and Mikey set a reminder in his brain to introduce him to Donatello, knowing the two of them would have a whale of a time geeking over weird stuff.   
He was also volunteering, helping out kids like Mikey and Mondo and the other with the emotional kind of stuff – he was an all-round guy, got the smarts and the heart. And Mikey loved him.

He must of known the others for quite a while the way they joked and laughed, and at first Mikey though that it was cool – to have a friend like that, but then he realised how incredibly depressing it was, because this was a cancer support group, and that meant that the longer they were friends with Leatherhead, the longer they’d been here, sick and dying – and that was bogus. 

But they talked about stuff like treatment and wanting to go home, stuff that made Mikey kinda sad and made him want to swallow it all down and forget about, but then they talked about their families, and Mikey learnt that Napoleon had family all over the world, and Malachi was a good few years younger than them and was the baby of the group as well as in his own home, and even when they laughed and joked, and Mikey told them about his brothers and his apartment and had thankfully skipped over the bits about his mom and his dad, when Mikey realised that Mondo hadn’t said a word about his family – and he felt a slight pang in his heart, because maybe his new friend was doing the exact same thing he was doing – missing out all the ugly bits. 

When the hour was up, Mikey sagged a little and wanted to protest, but instead he exchanged phone numbers with all of them – including Leatherhead who had put a warm hand on his shoulder and spoke with a voice that could move mountains and calm oceans,   
“If you ever want to talk Michelangelo, I’m always here”

And Mikey skipped off back to his room, where no doubt Leo would be waiting eagerly in the same old red chair, and as he skipped past Karai who had shot him a reassuring smile, he made a mental note to do something about that, and the corners of his lips curved and he felt a swell in his heart, something like joy blowing up like a balloon in his chest, a good, happy feeling that he hadn’t felt in a long time. 

Except it didn’t last long, because once he slipped back into his hospital gown, held Leo’s hand whilst Karai put the needle back in, he was throwing up, and it felt like the oncoming cycle of vomit wouldn’t ever stop.

His skin burned, even though Leo’s skin was cooling, and he felt a prickle behind his eyes and a swirling in his stomach that hurt, and he hated it.  
And when Karai had come back to sooth him, to reassure Leo that it was all normal and expected, and he ran a soft hand through his curls, and it came back with a few wispy strands, intertwined in his fingers before feather falling to the floor – Mikey saw his eyes widen and pupils turned to mere pinpricks, and he hated it so much – everything. 

But maybe he hated the world a little less, when Casey and April piled into the room, peppering his face with kisses, handfuls of pizza boxes, and Karai had hauled a few tubs of ice cream (even though when Leo asked if she was allowed to do that she gave a small smirk and winked) and Donnie and Raph brought the laptop and a selection of movies, and when they’d eaten and laughed and Mikey had talked about cats and ice cream and cats made of ice cream, the pain had eased out of his eyes, and was replaced with something warm and familiar – something like love and family.

It was three am again, when Mikey woken up and the last thing on his mind was Woody, so when he saw the boy at the foot of his bed, he blinked blearily and rubbed his eyes with a knuckle, waiting for an explanation. 

“Sorry, again” The Irish boy smiled sheepishly, and Mikey smiled weakly back,

“You’re not going to make a habit out of waking me up at three in the morning, are you?” He asked playfully, corners of his lips curling as Woody blinked confused for a second, then face cracking in two with a smile,

“Well only if you want me to” He grinned and Mikey rolled his eyes without the heat and Woody shuffled slightly on the spot.

There was a few seconds of silence when Mikey asked, his curiosity getting the better of him,  
“So what you doing here anyways?”

And he watched Woody go still, and Mikey started to wonder if maybe it was a good idea to ask in the first place, when Woody smiled lopsided and gave a small laugh and said,

“If I told you, I’d have to kill ya” before taking a few steps backwards, before winking, a quick nod of his head, and before Mikey could even compute what had happened, he was gone, skipping down the hallways, Mikey was just as lost as he was last time - them four days ago.


End file.
